Man Drowns In Canoe Accident, But Then 6 Years Later Officials Start To Question The Story

For a long time, investigators feared they would never solve the disappearance of John Darwin. One day, the beloved father and husband went out on his canoe and didn't return home. It looked like all hope was lost. But when authorities revisited the mystery years later, they honed in on some details that just didn't seem to add up. And before they knew it, a very difficult truth was staring them in the face.

John is gone

When Anne Darwin’s husband, John, didn’t return from a canoe trip near the North Sea in March 2002, she was terrified. The couple enjoyed a quiet life in the seaside town of Seaton Carew, Hartlepool in the United Kingdom when John embarked on the trip in his homemade kayak.

Where is he?

Anne called the authorities to report John missing. They searched the ocean for any signs of John or his vessel, but couldn’t find the rowing enthusiast. Rescue teams continued these fruitless efforts. In 2003, John was declared dead. "It crushed my world,” their son Mark said.

A new life

Both adult sons, Mark and Anthony, mourned for their father. For six years they dealt with John’s untimely disappearance and tried to move on with their lives — without their dad. They may have struggled with John drowning at sea, but Anne seemed strangely at peace. After all, there was one silver lining to her husband's demise.

Plot twist

John's death paid out £250,000 in life insurance, which came right in the nick of time. The pair had been living a quiet life in part because they were financially ruined. John worked as a professor while Anne was a receptionist, and they also rented some properties on the side, but it just wasn't enough. They were close to declaring bankruptcy.